JetBlue Card review: Decent rewards for JetBlue devotees

The JetBlue Card can give JetBlue customers an edge when building their points balance because it has generous rewards and very few fees. It also includes an intro APR for balance transfers, making it a good choice for anyone looking to switch up their travel routine and give JetBlue a shot.

Rewards: Boosted rewards in multiple categories

You can earn rewards from all of your purchases with the JetBlue Card, making it a potentially solid choice for families that value simplicity, travel primarily with JetBlue and don’t want to hold more than one credit card. The card’s 2X points for purchases at restaurants and grocery stores is a decent rate and likely makes the card a more practical choice than many airline cards that only offer bonus rewards on travel purchases.

In addition, cardholders can earn additional points through the JetBlue TrueBlue Dining rewards program. This awards you with 3 miles per dollar you spend at any of the roughly 10,000 eligible restaurants. The JetBlue Shopping Portal will also net you extra points when you make purchases via the portal.

Intro APR: Transfer any current card debt

You can consolidate current card debt on the JetBlue Card and avoid interest charges for the next 12 months. You’ll pay a balance transfer fee — like with any balance transfer — it’s sometimes more affordable to pay that fee than it is to let interest keep accruing. Many travel cards don’t offer intro APRs, so it’s a nice benefit on the JetBlue Card. This feature also leans into the appeal this card has for people who just want to hold as few credit cards as possible.

By funneling your debt to this card you can whittle down your balance, earn rewards in a few everyday categories and gain the convenience of exclusive perks when you travel with your favorite airline.

Fees: No foreign transaction or annual fees

You won’t need to pay annually to hold this card. You also won’t need to pay a fee (usually 3 percent of each transaction) to use it when you make international purchases. No foreign transaction fee is standard on the top travel cards, but the best travel cards usually cost $95 to $99 each year just to hold. The JetBlue Card offers a generously boosted rewards rate on eligible JetBlue purchases without any bothersome fees to worry about offsetting. 

If you’re hoping for a flexible general rewards card with valuable rewards and a high welcome offer — look elsewhere. Although the JetBlue Card offers a decent opportunity to earn rewards, it has some shortcomings worth calling out.

Welcome offer: Low valuation with a high spending requirement

The JetBlue Card carries a welcome offer of 10,000 points when you spend $1,000 within your first 90 days. Overall, the value of this bonus is lower than other rewards cards, making it a poor choice for upfront value and rewards. That said, it has a lower spending requirement than most premium travel cards. If you want to access travel rewards without much spending, it’s a good pick. However, if you want to maximize the value that your card brings to your wallet you should consider other options.

According to Bankrate’s latest valuations, JetBlue TrueBlue Rewards points are worth roughly 1.4 cents apiece. While this is more than the standard 1-cent-per-point redemption value you’ll find on many rewards cards, it’s low compared to the average value of some other cards’ rewards. Based on this valuation, the JetBlue Card’s current 10,000-point welcome offer is worth roughly $140 when redeemed, but this will vary based on flight availability.

To put this into perspective, you can find last-minute flights on Jetblue.com from as low as 13,300 points. While the 10,000 points from the welcome bonus wouldn’t cover this fare completely, the points you’d earn from meeting the spending requirement may make up the difference. For instance, if you spent $1,100 on JetBlue purchases in your first 90 days you’d earn 3,300 points via card spend and 10,000 points from the bonus for a total of 13,300 points. Other travel cards could provide enough points with their welcome offer that you won’t need to worry about offsetting any difference.

Perks: Bare minimum perks for an airline card

There are a few perks on this card, but they’re not likely to bring a ton of value to your wallet like the perks on premium travel cards might. If you want statement credits, early boarding benefits and other airline-specific perks that can smoothen your airport experience, other travel cards carry benefits that might appeal more to you. 

Here are some of the JetBlue Card’s perks broken down.

Rewards flexibility: Limited to JetBlue flights

You can only redeem your JetBlue rewards on JetBlue flights. To redeem, you simply log in to your TrueBlue account and choose your flight. There are no blackout dates, points never expire and there are no redemption fees. Simply choose what works for you and you’re set.

General travel rewards cards are much more flexible because the points and miles you earn are eligible for redemption through several airlines. Limiting redemptions to JetBlue means that you can’t shop around for the best deal and will be limited in your choices for traveling.

One of the JetBlue Card benefits is that you don’t have to spend tons of money to get the most bang for your buck. It’s geared toward your average flyer, but is ideal for those who fly JetBlue exclusively.

If you’re planning on staying loyal to JetBlue, consider pairing this card with a cash back card that earns at a flat-rate. You’ll be able to earn miles when needed, and you can also earn cash back on your everyday expenses to help pay for a trip or two. 

This standard JetBlue Card is a good option for infrequent flyers who still want to supplement their JetBlue flights. It’s not the most luxurious option and isn’t the best choice for your main credit card, but it can add to your travel. If you are a true JetBlue loyalist, however, you might want to consider opting for the JetBlue Plus Card.

If you’re looking for a more rewarding card that provides you with flexibility, then there are better options. If you instead opt for a general travel card, you can earn more points across multiple categories and enjoy more redemption variety.

The information about the JetBlue Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

Like most airline cards, the card is really suited toward customers of that airline. In this case, it’s JetBlue.

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review: